Draw bolt

Abstract

A drawbolt for the mating shells of a container has a latch whose spaced e walls are provided with open slots that receive a transverse cross-bar on one end of a loop whose other end is engageable behind a hasp on one of the shells. Outwardly directed lugs on the side walls are received in aligned apertures in spaced guide walls of a frame, such walls having edges defining aligned peripheral cam surfaces which, together with the closed end of the slots in the latch, capture the cross-bar of the loop and establish a pivotal connection between the latch and the loop. By attaching the frame to a plate adapted to be mounted on the other of the shells, the apertures in the guide walls are closed by the plate. The free ends of a pair of upstanding tabs on the plate cooperate with the closed ends of the apertures in capturing the lugs on the latch thus establishing a pivotal connection between the latch and the frame. Pivotal movement of the latch on the frame causes the cross-bar of the loop to follow an arcuate path defined by the cam surfaces of the guide walls of the frame allowing the closed end of the loop to be drawn behind the hasp to releasably fasten together the two shells of the container.

I claim: 
     
       1. A drawbolt comprising: a latch having a pair of spaced side walls;   each side wall having an edge, a longitudinally directed slot, one end of which is closed and the other end of which opens at said edge, and an outwardly extending lug, the slots in the sidewalls being aligned and the lugs being aligned;   a loop member having a cross-bar received in the slots in the latch, the length of the bar exceeding the spacing between the side walls of the latch;   frame means having a pair of guide walls spaced from each other less than the length of said cross-bar;   each guide wall having a longitudinal mounting edge, an aperture that opens at the last mentioned edge, and a curved peripheral cam edge, the apertures in the guide walls being aligned and the cam edges being aligned;   the latch being located with its side walls adjacent the respective guide walls of the frame means with the lugs received in the respective apertures of the frame means for effecting pivotal movement of the latch on the frame means; and   the bar of loop member being trapped between the cam edges of the guide walls of the frame means and the closed ends of the slots in the side walls of the latch for causing the bar to be constrained to move in a curved path in response to pivotal movement of the latch.   
     
     
       2. A drawbolt according to claim 1 wherein said frame means includes a mounting plate and a frame having side walls interconnected by a top wall, the side walls having extensions that define said guide walls and free longitudinal edges connected to the plate so that the top wall is spaced therefrom, the plate having a pair of upstanding tabs spaced from each other and located in alignment with the apertures in the guide walls so as to be engageable by the lugs on the latch. 
     
     
       3. A drawbolt according to claim 2 wherein the free longitudinal edges of the side walls of the frame have bendable tabs that are insertable into matching slots in the plate for assembling the frame on the plate. 
     
     
       4. A drawbolt according to claim 2 wherein said loop member has a closed end spaced longitudinally from the cross-bar, and wherein said latch is pivotal in one direction on the frame from a first terminal position at which the closed end of the loop is minimally displaced from the frame to a second terminal position at which the closed end of the loop is maximally displaced from the frame; and means for limiting rotation of the latch beyond said second terminal position. 
     
     
       5. A drawbolt according to claim 4 wherein said means for limiting rotation comprises stop portions in the apertures in the guide walls engageable with the respective lugs on the latch. 
     
     
       6. A drawbolt according to claim 4 wherein the latch has a top wall interconnecting the side walls with a centrally located lip adjacent said top wall, and a spring member within the frame having a leg engaged with the lip on said latch for resiliently urging the latter toward said first terminal position on the frame. 
     
     
       7. A drawbolt according to claim 6 wherein said spring member is constructed and arranged so that when the latch is in its second terminal position on the frame, an over-center force is exerted on the latch for holding the same in its second terminal position. 
     
     
       8. A drawbolt according to claim 6 wherein said plate has an upturned lock tab thereon projecting toward the top of said frame, and said spring member has an opening in a leg portion and is selectively shiftable on the frame from a blocking position at which the opening in the leg is misaligned with the lock tab for preventing pivoting of the latch to its second terminal position, to an unblocking position at which the opening in the ledge is aligned with the lock tab to permit pivotal movement of the latch to its second terminal position, and detent means for releasably retaining the spring means in its respective blocking and unblocking positions. 
     
     
       9. A drawbolt according to claim 8 wherein the top wall of said frame is provided with a key-aperture to permit a key to be inserted in the space between the top wall and the plate for selectively moving the spring member on the plate from one position to the other.